Anti-Bullying Policy

Transcription

1 Approved: Spring 2016 Date of next rev: Summer 2017 Anti-Bullying Policy School aims At The Cowplain School we intend to:- Section 1 1) Assist students in becoming independent and responsible adults. 2) Achieve excellence in our educational outcomes. 3) Provide learning experiences that meet the needs of each individual. 4) Employ the full range of available teaching and learning strategies for our students. 5) Provide effective training for all staff in pursuit of professional excellence. 6) Provide appropriate resources to support high quality learning experiences. 7) Provide an attractive and safe learning environment. 8) Ensure that there are high levels of confidence between school and community. 9) Monitor and evaluate our progress in all aspects of the school's development. 1.1 Aims of the Policy This policy aims to: Prevent or reduce incidents of bullying Provide a clearly defined framework for dealing with the victims and the perpetrators of the incidents of bullying Ensure that this framework is understood and trusted by students, all members of staff, parents and carers. The aims of the school within this policy are: 1. To provide a happy and caring environment in which to learn and work where everyone in the school community is valued. 2. To encourage everyone in the school to treat each other with respect, courtesy and consideration regardless of differences in race, gender, culture, religion or position within the school. 3. To ensure that students develop social skills and attitudes relevant to their future adult lives and are helped to understand the consequences of their actions. 4. To ensure that everyone is protected from deliberate attempts to harm or distress them and that each individual feels able to turn to others for support when it is needed. NBT November Anti-Bullying Policy

2 The Anti-Bullying Policy should mean: For students who experience bullying: they are heard they know how to report bullying and get help they are confident in the school's ability to deal with the bullying steps are taken to help them feel safe again they are helped to rebuild confidence and resilience they know how they can get support from others. For students who engage in bullying behaviour: sanctions and learning programmes hold them to account for their behaviour and help them to face up to the harm they have caused they learn to behave in ways which do not cause harm in future because they have developed their emotional skills and knowledge they learn how they can take steps to repair the harm they have caused. For the school: the whole school community is clear about the anti-bullying stance the school takes students, as well as staff and other members of the school, are fully engaged in developing and reviewing anti-bullying work in the school every chance is taken to celebrate the success of anti-bullying work all students are clear about the roles they can take in preventing bullying, including the role of bystanders. For heads, governors and other school staff: they promote a school climate where bullying and violence are not tolerated and cannot flourish they continually develop best-practice based on knowledge of what works there is a review of the school anti-bullying policy every two years and, as a result, the policy and procedures are updated as necessary curriculum opportunities are used to address bullying pupil support systems are in place to prevent and respond to bullying they have addressed school-site issues and promote safe play areas all staff take part in relevant professional development, and are clear about their roles and responsibilities in preventing and responding to bullying all staff are aware of the importance of modelling positive relationships data systems gather useful information about the effectiveness of the anti-bullying work, and this data is used for monitoring and evaluation, and is shared with the school community they work in partnership with parents, other schools and with Children's Services and community partners to promote safe communities. NBT November Anti-Bullying Policy

3 For parents: they are clear that the school does not tolerate bullying they are aware of procedures to use if they are concerned their child is being bullied or does not feel safe to learn, including the school's complaints procedure they have confidence that the school will take any complaint about bullying seriously and investigate/resolve as necessary, and that the school systems will deal with the bullying in a way which protects their child they are clear about ways in which they can complement the school on the antibullying policy or procedures. This policy recognises the importance of tackling bullying issues robustly and promoting anti-bullying for the Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural (SMSC) development of students and forms a key element of that policy. It also acknowledges the school s legal duties under the Equality Act 2010, in respect of safeguarding and in respect of students with special educational needs (SEN). 1.2 Rationale At The Cowplain School, we believe that all members of the community are valued and, as such, will achieve together and care for each other. Any type of behaviour that prevents a student from learning or a member of staff doing their job will not be tolerated. Bullying is one such undesirable activity, and it is for the school as a whole, and for all students, staff, parents and carers to overcome bullying. 1.3 Definition Bullying is any behaviour by any single person or group directed against any single person or group which causes them to feel intimidated, uncomfortable or unhappy in any way, usually repeated over time. People are bullied, or picked on, when another person or group of persons say nasty things to him or her. It is also bullying when a person is hit, kicked, threatened, locked inside a room, sent unpleasant notes, when no one ever talks to them and other incidents where they are deliberately isolated. These things can happen frequently and it is difficult for the person being bullied to defend himself or herself. It is also bullying when a person is teased repeatedly in a vindictive way and made to feel uncomfortable. Bullying can take place between students, by individuals or groups; face-to-face, indirectly or using a range of cyberbullying methods. However, if two people have an occasional fight, argument or disagreement this is not bullying but a type of inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour that would be dealt with. There is no 'hierarchy' of bullying all forms of bullying should be taken equally seriously and dealt with appropriately. 1.4 Categories of Bullying These include: race, religion and culture SEN or disabilities appearance or health conditions NBT November Anti-Bullying Policy

4 sexual orientation being a young carer or looked-after child sexism or bullying of a sexual nature the bullying of staff by students, parents and other staff. 1.5 Types of Bullying Bullying includes: name-calling taunting making offensive remarks kicking hitting pushing taking belongings inappropriate text-messaging and ing (see separate leaflet - Key Advice on Cyberbullying) sending offensive or degrading images by phone or via the internet (as above) producing offensive graffiti excluding people from groups spreading hurtful and untruthful rumours or gossip Bullying can seriously damage a young person's confidence and sense of self-worth, and they will often feel that they are at fault in some way. It can lead to serious and prolonged emotional damage for an individual. Those who conduct the bullying or witness the bullying can also experience emotional harm, and the impact on parents and school staff can be significant. Section Operating the policy Awareness raising through the Curriculum Students will be made aware of the types of bullying which exist through work in PSHCE, in Reflection Time and through informal teaching, both in and out of lessons. In addition to this, Assemblies will regularly focus on reinforcing positive roles of behaviour expectations of pupil behaviour and possible outcomes linked to a variety of bullying. Parents and students are to be informed about the school s procedures for dealing with bullying through the school induction programme or when they enrol at the school. This will also be reinforced with various activities during the National Anti-Bullying Week, held in November. NBT November Anti-Bullying Policy

5 2.1.2 What the school will do Procedures and responsibilities for reporting and dealing with incidents of school bullying: Incidents of bullying should be reported to any member of staff who will log written details on the School s Information Management System (SIMS) and report the incident to the appropriate member of the Pastoral Team as soon as possible. A written statement must be taken from the perpetrator in order for the appropriate member of the Pastoral Team to take the necessary action. Details of the incident are retained on SIMS and copies of statements will be filed in both victim s and the bully s personal records. All incidents of bullying will be dealt with promptly and consistently. Time and effort must be allocated to monitor the subsequent behaviour of the victim and the bully. Students reporting bullying incidents should be assured of anonymity wherever possible. First Instance of Bullying In the first instance of a bullying incident being reported, there should be a discussion with both the bully and the victim to establish how the current situation came about. To punish the bully at this time may do more harm than good. The bully may not fully understand the impact of his/her actions and may need help to understand what it feels like to be on the receiving end of their unsociable behaviour. The victim may not fully understand that something in his/her own behaviour may have contributed to the situation. If at all possible, it is preferable to bring the victim and the bully together to ensure they both agree and understand the events that led to the incidents (s) and then to agree plans to ensure bullying behaviour does not reoccur. It may be useful to involve one or two friends on both sides. At this stage it is useful to make it clear that there is no blame and no punishment rather there is a problem that needs to be solved by the bully and the victim learning how to act with better social skills. Parents/Carers of both the victim and bully do not necessarily need to be notified at this point. This provides an opportunity for: a) the students to address their lack of social skills and put things right on their own, and b) the school to operate a clearly defined staged-approach providing clear choices to those involved. N.B. More serious incidents involving physical assaults upon another student may require a more serious response and will be discussed with the appropriate member of the Pastoral Team, an SLT member or Head of Upper School (Years 9, 10 and 11) or Head of Lower School (Years 7 and 8). NBT November Anti-Bullying Policy

6 Further instances of Bullying If the above low-key approach does not stop the outlined bullying behaviour, then the school will be prepared to move toward a more instructive/punitive approach. This must include notifying the parents/carers of the respected behaviour and the punishment and counselling that may need to be given, should the parent/carer intervention not stop the undesirable behaviour already noted. The victim should be offered support, include peer mentoring, staff supervision and referral to the Student Counsellor within the school. Depending on the nature, frequency and severity of the bullying incident the punitive action undertaken will be in accordance with the school Sanctions for Serious Offences and will result in the perpetrator being excluded from school. If necessary, the member of the Pastoral Team will seek further support from an SLT member or Head of Upper School (Years 9, 10 and 11) or Head of Lower School (Years 7 and 8). After the incident/incidents have been investigated and dealt with, each case will be monitored to ensure repeated bullying does not take place. The Cowplain School has a confidential address which students may contact if they wish to inform us of any bullying issues. The address is stoppingittogether@cowplainschool.co.uk References Ensuring good behaviour in Schools, DFE 2012, p1 101 Tips for Parents Preventing and dealing with bullying, Julie Casey Appendices Appendix 1 Advice for parents and students Appendix 2 Key advice on cyberbullying Appendix 3 Useful organisations and websites Monitoring, Evaluation and Review The Policy is reviewed every two years by the Senior Leadership Team and Governors as part of the self evaluation cycle. Appropriate action is taken if changes are required. Other Relevant Policies This Policy should be used with reference to one or more of the following policies: Child Protection Equal Opportunities Policy Exclusion SEN A copy of the School s Anti-Bullying Policy is available online at NBT November Anti-Bullying Policy

7 Appendix 1: Advice for parents and students IF YOUR CHILD IS BULLYING OTHER CHILDREN Many children may be involved in bullying other students at some time or other. Often parents are not aware that their child is involved in bullying. Children sometimes bully others because: They don t know it is wrong They are copying older brothers or sisters or other people in the family whom they admire They haven t learnt other, better ways of mixing with their school friends Their friends encourage them to bully They are going through a difficult time and are acting out aggressive feelings TO STOP YOUR CHILD FROM BULLYING OTHERS Talk with your child; explain that what he/she is doing is unacceptable and makes other children unhappy Discourage other members of your family from bullying behaviour or from using aggression or force to get what they want Show your child how he/she can join in with other children without bullying Make an appointment to see your child s Form Tutor or Pastoral Leader. Explain to the teacher the problems your child is experiencing; discuss with the teacher how you and the school can stop him/her bullying others Regularly check with your child how things are going at school Give your child lots of praise and encouragement when he/she is cooperative or kind to other people ADVICE FOR STUDENTS If you are being bullied, tell an adult mum, dad, teacher, support staff, taxi driver, dinner lady or anyone else that you trust. Tell a friend who will then tell an adult for you. Stay with groups of people, even if they are not your friends. There is safety in numbers. You are much more vulnerable on your own. If you are in danger from bullies, get away and don t try to fight. Find an adult you can tell. If you have to walk through a taunting, teasing group, talk to yourself inside your head. I m O.K.. I m good at drawing / riding my bike / swimming / maths / reading I like myself. NBT November Anti-Bullying Policy

8 Walk quickly and confidently, stand up straight, hold your head up and make bullies think you are strong inside. NBT November Anti-Bullying Policy

9 Appendix 2: The Cowplain School Key Advice on Cyberbullying Advice to Parents and Carers When a child is the target of cyberbullying bullying via mobile phone or the internet they can feel alone and very misunderstood. It is therefore vital that as a parent or carer you know how to support your child if they are caught up in cyberbullying. This short guide will help you. Prevent cyberbullying Where to start The best way to deal with cyberbullying is to prevent it happening in the first place. Although it may be uncomfortable to accept, you should be aware that your child may as likely cyberbully as be a target of cyberbullying, and that sometimes children get caught up in cyberbullying simply by not thinking about the consequences of what they are doing. It is therefore crucial that you talk with your children, and understand the ways in which they are using the internet and their mobile phone. In this guide there is an anti-cyberbullying code which contains seven key messages for children, which you may find a helpful starting point for a discussion with them about issues, such as being careful about posting images on personal websites and where to go to get help. Use the tools Most software and services on the internet have in-built safety features. Knowing how to use them can prevent unwanted contact. For example, IM services such as MSN Messenger have features which allow users to block others on their contact list, and conversations can be saved on most IM services. Social-networking sites such as MySpace and Bebo also have tools available, e.g. young people can keep their profile set to 'private' so that only approved friends can see it. With bullies using text and picture messaging, it is also important to check with your children's internet or mobile-phone provider to find out what protections they can offer, including whether it is possible to change your mobile number. Responding to cyberbullying The anti-cyberbullying code Start by teaching your children the seven key messages in the anti-cyberbullying code. This includes advice on not replying or retaliating to cyberbullying, as well as not assisting a cyberbully by forwarding a message, even as a joke. Keep the evidence Keeping the evidence of cyberbullying is helpful when reporting an incident and may help in identifying the bully. This means keeping copies of offending s, text messages or online conversations. Reporting cyberbullying There are a number of organisations that can help you if you need to report incidents of cyberbullying: NBT November Anti-Bullying Policy

10 The school: if the incident involves a student, or students, at The Cowplain School, then it is important to let the school know. All schools have a legal duty to have measures in place to support the person being bullied and to apply disciplinary sanctions to the student doing the bullying. The provider of the service: most service providers have complaints and abuse policies, and it is important to report the incident to the provider of the service, i.e. the mobile-phone operator (e.g. O2 or Vodafone), the provider (e.g. MSN Messenger or AOL), or the social-network provider (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). Most responsible service providers will have a 'Report Abuse' or a nuisance call bureau, and these can provide information and advice on how to help your child. The police: if the cyberbullying is serious and a potential criminal offence has been committed you should consider contacting the police. Relevant criminal offences here include harassment and stalking, threats of harm or violence to a person or property, and any evidence of sexual exploitation, e.g. grooming, distribution of sexual images, or inappropriate sexual contact or behaviour. Advice to Children and Young People ANTI-CYBERBULLYING CODE Being sent an abusive or threatening text message, or seeing nasty comments about yourself on a website, can be really upsetting. This code gives you seven important tips to protect yourself and your friends from getting caught up in cyberbullying, and advice on to how to report it when it does happen. 1. Always respect others Remember that when you send a message to someone, you cannot see the impact that your words or images may have on the other person. That is why it is important to always show respect to people and be careful what you say online or what images you send. What you think is a joke may really hurt someone else. Always ask permission before you take a photo of someone. If you receive a rude or nasty message or picture about someone else, do not forward it. You could be assisting a bully and even be accused of cyberbullying yourself. You could also be breaking the law. 2. Think before you send It is important to think before you send any images or text about yourself or someone else by or mobile phone, or before you post information on a website. Remember that what you send can be made public very quickly and could stay online forever. Do you really want your teacher or future employer to see that photo? 3. Treat your password like your toothbrush Don't let anyone know your passwords. It is a good idea to change them on a regular basis. Choosing hard-to-guess passwords with symbols or numbers will help stop people hacking into your account and pretending to be you. Remember to only give your mobile number or personal website address to trusted friends. 4. Block the Bully Most responsible websites and services allow you to block or report someone who is behaving badly. Make use of these features, they are there for a reason! NBT November Anti-Bullying Policy

11 5. Don't retaliate or reply Replying to bullying messages, particularly in anger, is just what the bully wants. 6. Save the evidence Learn how to keep records of offending messages, pictures or online conversations. These will help you demonstrate to others what is happening and can be used by your school, internet service provider, mobile phone company, or even the police to investigate the cyberbullying. 7. Make sure you tell You have a right not to be harassed and bullied online. There are people that can help: Tell an adult you trust who can help you to report it to the right place, or call a helpline like ChildLine on in confidence. Tell the provider of the service you have been bullied on (e.g. your mobile-phone operator or social-network provider). Check their websites to see where to report. Tell an adult at school. We can support you and can discipline the person bullying you. Use the school s confidential address: stoppingittogether@cowplain.hants.sch.uk Finally, don't just stand there. If you see cyberbullying going on, support the victim and report the bullying. How would you feel if no one stood up for you? NBT November Anti-Bullying Policy

12 Appendix 3: Websites / Helplines for Parents and Carers The Cowplain School Confidential - stoppingittogether@cowplainschool.co.uk Bully Free Zone Provides a peer mediation service, written and telephone advice, and provides training for children and young people, parents, teachers, youth workers and other professionals. Bullying: What can parents do? Last year more than 20,000 children and young people called ChildLine about bullying, making it the most common problem dealt with. Bullying: Why it matters YoungMinds aims to provide parents or carers with straightforward information about children's mental health problems Your Teenager Website offering advice and information on all issues related to bringing up teenagers, including what to do about bullying. Kidscape Charity dedicated to protecting children from bullying and abuse offers a Parent advice line. Phone: (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm) Parentline Plus Offers advice and information on all aspects of parenting. Phone: (seven days a week, 24 hours a day) NBT November Anti-Bullying Policy